Hey Troy
Congratulations on the Tri-City win by the way, I would love to talk to you about your approach and plan for that tournament. I keep a diary on all of our NW waters and add information whenever/wherever I can.
![Smiley Smiley](https://westernbassclub.com/yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/smiley.gif)
As to the boat finding, I have been seriously looking at boats for over a year, I have had almost no time to do any fishing for most of that time and it was getting frustrating to finally get a day off and have no easy way to get on the water. I had friends and family looking out for me all over the northwest and I visited every boat dealer within 500 miles, even down in California on business trips etc. Either the boats were snapped up after I saw them, before I could get to them (two immaculate Rangers back to back) or they wanted more money than I wanted to spend for that particular boat. I saw a lot of questionable boats with solid gold price tags!
I was just about to pull the trigger on a new boat when this one popped up on Craigslist and I was about three miles away so I dropped by right after work. I was the first person to look at it and bought it after checking out a few things and taking it for a run on WA. I was very impressed with the care that the previous owner put into this boat. A guy from Portland pulled up just as were signing the papers, he offered 8K on the spot, I told him 15K and he left.
![Roll Eyes Roll Eyes](https://westernbassclub.com/yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/rolleyes.gif)
It is not perfect, but the engine should not give me any trouble, the trailer is in almost new condition with excellent tires and tracks perfectly, it has a very nice JVC removable sound system, the carpet is in good condition, the live wells work both front and back, it has all of the necessary electronics (but I will be upgrading), storage is not the best but will do for now and the seats have no hook snags in them. Hotfoot, jackplate and 62# Tour Edition Motorguide TM, ready to fish which I will be doing this weekend.
I believe if you are looking for a boat, that from now through next spring you will find some good deals as things tighten up a bit. I think that Craiglist is probably the best for this.
Good Luck
BillB